The Ceremony

The couple exchanged vows in a ceremony of Jewish-mixed-with-Catholic traditions (to honor the bride’s and groom’s backgrounds, respectively), officiated by a close friend. “We wanted a ceremony that felt personal and focused on family and tradition,” Elyse says. To create that, they stood beneath a huppah (one they had made themselves) with their families, maid of honor, and best man, and carried out the Jewish traditions of sharing a cup of wine, breaking the glass, and signing a ketubah before the ceremony. Elyse’s father read a Jewish poem, while Don’s parents read a traditional Catholic prayer. Afterward, the newlyweds retreated upstairs for a few quiet moments together in the Jewish tradition of yichud, or seclusion.